The was a major fatal railway accident which occurred on 25 February 1947 between and stations on the Hachikō Line in Japan. It was the worst railway accident to occur in Japan. A Japanese Government Railways (JGR) passenger train hauled by a

Class C57 The is a type of 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in Japan from 1937 to 1947. A total of 201 Class C57 locomotives were built and designed by Hideo Shima . Another 14 Class C57 locomotives were built for export to Taiwan in 1942 and 1953. The class ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

travelling in the "down" direction derailed on a sharp curve, and four cars rolled over into a field. 184 passengers were killed and 495 were injured. It was later determined that the derailment had occurred due to a combination of excessive speed, and that the high casualty rate was due to the overcrowded wooden passenger cars, which were already worn out by overuse during the war. JGR used the opportunity to obtain permission from the

Supreme Commander of Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "milita ...

to replace all wooden passenger cars (approximately 3,000 were in use at the time) with steel-bodied cars within a few years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hachiko Line derailment Derailments in Japan Railway accidents in 1947 1947 in Japan February 1947 events in Asia ja:日本の鉄道事故 (1949年以前)#八高線列車脱線転覆事故